Homeowners and residents of a Miami-Dade trailer park are trying to establish a homeowner's association to stay in their homes after the park was recently sold.
"The homeowners and the other residents living there want to stop this," attorney Evian White said. "They want to be able to live in their homes for as long as possible."
White, an attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami, is trying to help the residents of Little Farm Trailer Park in El Portal. She's afraid some of the estimated 1,000 residents living there will end up on the street.
"So many people, many of which are elderly because they’ve lived there for so long, a lot of people are disabled, a lot of people have children," White said.
Resident "Pinky" said she can't afford to move anywhere else. She's on disability and rent is cheap at Little Farm. To lease the land, she only pays $480 a month.
"I can’t move my trailer so I have to leave everything here, I can’t drag it with me," she said.
Even though under Florida state statute, she will be entitled up to $1,375 to abandon her trailer, "Pinky" insists she won't be able to afford an apartment.
"The cheapest you can get a place for, even the low income place is $700," she said.
Then there are those who only rent the trailers. White said it's the only form of non-subsidized affordable rent for them because the waiting list is so huge.
"The best case scenario is to stay in the mobile home park and keep living in their mobile homes," White said.
Saul Flores and his family have been renting from Little Farm for 18 years. He said his mom worries about where they'll end up next.
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"They’re a little worried about the moneywise and they need to find a place to stay in," he said.
In addition to Legal Services of Greater Miami, an organization called South Florida for Working Families is also assisting Little Farm residents to form a homeowner's association to fight the new owners.
